Captivity to Freedom -- Victim to Survivor

Last night was a milestone for me in my ministry, my first client returned to Buffalo to speak to the Support Groups, Advocates and women who have a passion for our ministry. Her message was how she moved form the mentality of a victim to that of a Survivor, from captivity to freedom !! Do you know how ? She allowed Jesus Christ to become not only her Savior, but Lord of her life. Giving everything over to Him and allowing Him to take control and move her away from and out of and through to the plan that He had designed for her life. refer to Jer. 29 v 11 & 12, God has a future and a plan of good for each of us. Our part is to get into position where He can begin the process. As Tami was speaking I thought of the broken woman who sat on my couch 7 years ago and cried out for help. Today she is confident and self assured that she is in the position that He wants for her at this season of her life. She is serving with the Friendships Ministry home based in Lake Charles ,La, they are a disaster relief organization traveling world wide wherever there is a need. (http://www.friendships.org/ ). You may be reading this and do not know the plan that God has for your life, you may or may not have been or still are a victim and ask where do I start to find the plan that God has for my life ?. #1 (John 3v16) You must know Jesus as Savior, ask him for forgiveness of sin and turn away from the past and look to Him. #2 (Luke 11v 9-12) Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with His Love for people and His power to minister that Love. #3 (Rom. 12 v2 )Renew your mind daily to the Word of God and He will become Lord of your life. Listening to Tami last night brought back to my mind a Bible Study I heard in 1995, this study was a turning point in my life, to begin moving from Jesus as Savior to Jesus as Lord of my life. I found the outline this morning and want to share it with you. Let The Past Be The Past I Cor 5v17 / Phil 3v13-15 / I Peter 4v3 1. The Past is to LEARN from, Not to LIVE in . 2 . God does not consult your PAST to determine your FUTURE 3. Conquer Your PAST by focusing on your FUTURE 4. STOP looking at where you have been ! LOOK at where you are going! 5. STOP looking at what you do not have, LOOK at what you do have ! 6. Your FUTURE begins with whatever is in your hands TODAY ! 7. DON'T always believe what others SAY about you, BELIEVE GOD ! 8. Those who created past PAIN, do not CONTROL your FUTURE ! 9. You can become BITTER or GET BETTER, You CHOOSE ! 10. You may STUMBLE and FALL, But WINNERS GET UP ! This is a process and will not come about overnight, but the diligent seeker WILL find the way with direction and wisdom from , God the Father, Jesus the Son and The Holy Spirit Until next time, "KEEP YOUR EYES ON JESUS, HE HAS ALL THE ANSWERS !!"

Prayer Changes Our Life !!

I have spent much of the last week in prayer, there is a young man , (15) in our area who was badly injured in a vehicle accident a week ago. He has been in critical condition, much damage to his internal body and severe damage to his head, that has caused trauma to his brain. This has brought our community together in prayer. Everywhere I go people are asking about how is Jacob doing ? I believe every church in town has him on their prayer chain. Praying intensely for this young man has strengthened my faith as we get updates several times a day, It has prompted me to ask, how do those who do not know Jesus and have a relationship with Him

make it through a time such as this. Jacob's Mom has strong faith, can not even imagine how hard this must be for her, to stand strong and firm on the Word believing that God is in control, what the enemy intended for harm will give Glory and Honor to God. here in Buffalo,Tx. we are standing on the Word of God that Jacob will live and not die. I have a large immediate and extended family, there is always someone or something to pray about. I thank God that when there is a problem, trial, or test my loved ones call on me to pray. Through the years we have seen many answered prayers, there have been times that prayer was not answered in the way we would have liked, but we must believe that in those instances God is in control and has only what is best for us on His mind, in spite of what we may see with the natural eye or hear with the natural ear. He is a God of the Supernatural , His wonders to perform, He takes the IM out of impossible and makes thing possible. If you do not know Jesus as your Savior, you have only to ask and believe, then seek Him dilgently and make Him Lord of your life.

Until next time,"Keep Your Eyes on Jesus" !!

Boundaries, When to Say Yes,When to Say No

My advanced Support Group is finishing a book by Henry Cloud and John Townsend on setting Boundaries, I have learned so much from this book. I have been a person who has said yes too many times when I should have said no. Never wanting to have someone mad at me or hurt their feelings. This book uses Bible principles to instruct on how and when to set boundaries for every area of your life. Spouse, Children, Parents, Friends, and Work. I wish I would have had this book when I was raising my children, in this area I probably said no too many times at the wrong time. Having too much freedom as a teen, I tended to be too strict on my children as they were growing up. It goes from birth through teen years giving instruction on how to help your children begin on a foundation that will produce an adult that will be an asset not only for society, but especially an adult that can hear from God and then obey. I encourage you to get this book and read it slowly from front to back.' I have the Workbook but it is very repetitive, unless you want to do an in depth study and answer the questions at the end of each chapter. I am also reading the book on the Dugger family, 20 and Counting. I watch their show on TV and have been fascinated by how they manage to raise such a large family without Government assistance. God has truly blessed them and I believe their plan has worked for them. I do not believe it is for everyone, God does have a plan for each of our lives and we have only to find that place in Him and follow the path He lays before us. Just as He does not call everyone to be a Missionary in Africa, I do not believe He calls every family to have18 children. Their story is interesting and in the coming years we will see if their way works as their children grow up and leave home. For myself 4 was good and I love each one of them, I was not Harriet Nelson or Bever's Mom and know I could have been a much better Mom than I was, but we can not go back and do it over, I love my children and have asked them to forgive me for my poor parenting. This book has been a real eye opener for me and much of it I can put into practice in my life now. If you are reading this and have small children at home, I encourage you to get this book, not just for you but for your children. Until next time, "Keep You Eyes On Jesus"

Satisfaction

I have a daily reading called,"For Women Who Do Too Much," which I do not always get to read and I am at the present a month behind. The daily reading for June 10 really spoke to me and I want to share it with you, this applies to men as well as women. Satisfaction with one's life is like being anointed with warm oil. It is so peaceful to read the words of someone who is content. Often we equate contentment and satisfaction with stagnation. They are anything but that ! True satisfaction with ones life is an acceptance of what is, continuing to prepare for what can be, while letting go of what we thought needed to be. Satisfaction is a quiet place of quietude, a busy place of stillness. Satisfaction is a place of relief rarely felt be people who do too much. Satisfaction is the soul breathing a sigh of relief. I meditated on this and I thought of when Paul said he was content no matter what state he found himself in. Phil. 4v11. He had learned how to be content and satisfied because he knew God was in control and would give him the strength to carry out God's plan for his life, Phil. 4v13. The warm oil refers to the Holy Spirit, He is our Comforter and our Peace. So my prayer for myself and for you who are reading this is to be satified where I am now, continue to look forward to what God's plan for my life is, and release what I think is needed. Let God has His way in my life, find that place of quiet and dwell there, for that is where He will be found. To be busy with His work, listening for His voice and follow after it, for there is where I will find the peace and contentment that I seek. Till next time,"Keep Your Eyes On Jesus".

Are Yoiu An Overcomer ?

Can not believe 2 weeks have passed since I have posted here. Computer was in shop all last week,so I do have somewhat of a good reason. Pray all had a wonderful 4th ! We went to spend the day with family, it was a peaceful day of eating and visiting. This will be a busy week for me, a meeting in the morning and 3 counsel sessions this week. Brought a granddaughter home with us, she is old enough to be alone for short periods of time. Of course I want to do some fun things with her while she is here, probably a movie, swimming and eating out. We both like to play board games and we are very competitive. I read a book and cleaned some cabinets and closets while the computer was down. So all was not lost ! I do realize I spend entirely too much time online and playing my games, would really help if I could get high speed Internet, maybe this year the phone lines will be upgraded out here. I am only 4 miles from town, but that is too far. my Pastor gave a wonderful message today on being an overcomer, I want to share a few of his points with you and some of my own added thoughts. There will always be opportunity to give up or give in to the challenges and pressures of life. I must always remember I am an overcomer in the process of overcoming. I must see myself as God sees me ! The Bible is our blueprint to living a victorious Christian life. II Cor. 2 v14 says He always leads us in triumph, I must follow where He leads and I will never go wrong. I will not and can not be defeated as long as I follow where he leads. Defeat and failure are not in the future of the believer who learns how to apply God's word to his daily life. There are several points that will enable you to begin your path to being an overcomer. James 4 v 17 lays out the way, 1. Submit to God, 2. Resist the Devil , 3 Draw near to God. If I do these then God will draw near to me and the Devil will flee. If I fail to apply these 3 steps then I will be attacked with the enemies weapons, 1 Fear, 2 Doubt, and 3 Worry. These 3 areas are attacks on our thoughts, this is how the enemy gets to us. He can not attack the spirit man as it belongs to God, so he comes through our minds with wrong thinking. This is why it is so important for us to mediate on the Word day and night and to hide and guard it in our hearts. I encourage you to dive into the Word of God, feed on it as you feed your physical body and you will become the overcomer that God sees you to be and you will begin to see yourself as one also. There is a champion in every born again believer, we need to nurture that champion in the Word and watch him grow into a powerful witness for His honor and glory. remember God does not look on the outside of man, He looks to the heart of man, what is in the heart will be spoken out of the mouth. I pray that the Word of the Living God will come forth from my mouth ! Let this be your prayer ! Until next time, "Keep Your Eyes On Jesus !"